Engine Cooling System

The engine of a car runs best when the temperature is fairly high. It is important to have a working cooling system to aid the engine to heat as quick as possible and then keeping it at a constant temperature.

Liquid Cooling
Fluid circulates through pipes and passageways in the engine. As this liquid passes through the hot engine it absorbs heat, cooling the engine. After the fluid leaves the engine, it passes through a heat exchanger, or radiator, which transfers the heat from the fluid to the air blowing through the exchanger.

Plumbing
1. The pump sends the fluid into the engine block, where it makes its way through passages in the engine around the cylinders. 2. Then it returns through the cylinder head of the engine. The thermostat is located where the fluid leaves the engine. 3. The plumbing around the thermostat sends the fluid back to the pump directly if the thermostat is closed. If it is open, the fluid goes through the radiator first and then back to the pump. 4. There is also a separate circuit for the heating system. This circuit takes fluid from the cylinder head and passes it through a heater core and then back to the pump.

Fluid
Water is one of the most effective fluids for holding heat, but water freezes at too high a temperature to be used in car engines. The fluid that most cars use is a mixture of water and ethylene glycol (C2H6O2), also known as antifreeze. By adding ethylene glycol to water, the boiling and freezing points are improved significantly. Antifreeze also contains additives to resist corrosion.

Engine
The engine block and cylinder head have many passageways cast to allow for fluid flow. These passageways direct the coolant to the most critical areas of the engine.

If the engine goes without cooling for very long, it can seize. When this happens, the metal has actually gotten hot enough for the piston to weld itself to the cylinder. This usually means the complete destruction of the engine.

Radiator
A radiator is a type of heat exchanger. It is designed to transfer heat from the hot coolant that flows through it to the air blown through it by the fan. The tubes have a type of fin inserted into them called a turbulator, which increases the turbulence of the fluid flowing through the tubes. If the fluid flowed very smoothly through the tubes, only the fluid actually touching the tubes would be cooled directly.

Pressure Cap
The radiator cap actually increases the boiling point of your coolant by about (25 C). The cap is actually a pressure release valve, and on cars it is usually set to 15 psi. The boiling point of water increases when the water is placed under pressure.

Thermostat
Allowing the engine to heat up quickly. And to keep the engine at a constant temperature. It does this by regulating the amount of water that goes through the radiator. At low temperatures, the outlet to the radiator is completely blocked all of the coolant is recirculated back through the engine.